Saturday, February 25

Short-handed, Sonics Fall

Thanks to food poisoning (Allen), babies (Collison), injuries (Fortson, Fife), and trades (Watson, Wilks, Russell), the Sonics were down to 7 guys last night in Orlando, and the Magic made them pay.

Sadly, Rashard was unable to step up in his chance for a big night, scoring only 14 points on 6-for-16 shooting from the field. The Omen made the most of his 46 minutes by scoring 21 points, and Chris Wilcox continued to make Rick Sund look smart by scoring 20 (while Radman was scoring 19 in LA for the Clips in his 2nd consecutive start). With both Frodo and Lewis at 5 fouls in the 4th, the Sonics were perilously close to having only 5 available players. In a seldom-used rule derived from the U.S. government's "levels of power" rule for the presidency, the NBA requires first the head coach, then assistant coach, then trainer, then broadcasters to suit up if a team fails to dress 5 players. There is no truth to the rumor that Craig Ehlo was the one who poisoned Ray Allen, although he was seen lurking around Nick Collison's wife, shouting "boo!" in an attempt to induce labor.

Tonight, the Sonics head down the state for a game with the Heat. Don't know Allen's status, but Vegas has tabbed Miami a 16-point favorite. The smart money, as always, is not on the Sonics.

Update: Mike Wilks may play tonight. Danny Fortson may also join the team and play. Watson and Bryon Russell are both expected to play on Tuesday in Seattle against N.O./OKC, while Swift's nose is expected to keep him out until at least Tuesday.

Pretty good run-down there, pakngo. Rashard seems to be in a haze lately, at least in his comments to the media. There's an article in the Times (or was it the TNT) about his confusion about Reggie Evans' reduced role under Bob Hill.

We have to remember that these guys are human beings. Imagine that everything in your office went south for an entire year - shipping was always late, orders went unfinished, etc, etc. You wouldn't be human if you didn't start thinking the whole world was against you.

If you step back and look at the stats, Lewis has had a good year, and he's certainly not the reason why the Sonics have tanked this season.

That said, he doesn't seem on the surface to be a take-charge leader type of guy.

Lew will never be a #2 on any team - he has peaked and has no ability to take over a game. That's why it was Flip who took off last year when Ray was injured, not Lew. He only plays well when a bigger star is on court so he can hide. Throw a double team at Lewis and he disappears. That is why we call him soft. You are deluding yourselves if you think he will ever step up his game. He is the reason we are still sucking - he cannot play well if he is the main guy on court. See Friday's game as a prime example. Trade his sorry ass contract asap.

Keep in mind, though, that he's in the midst of what has to be the most frustrating year of basketball he's ever had. I wouldn't judge his future moves by what he says now. Go by what he's saying in July.

He'll be saying one word - $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$Do we sink the franchise on overpaying him again, or do we get real and get someone with balls instead, who doesn't shrink away whenever Ray is out? He'll ask for the max - he ain't worth 1/4 that.